Historical Significance Of Horror Films In The 1920s-1970s

Horror films are alluring to viewers for many reasons. Horror movies have longed to serve a purpose which is to scare and also provide stories about the dark scary side of life. People watch horror movies to get scared, for the thrill and most of all plain old entertainment. Three main characteristics of horror films are according to Maggie McCutcheon is scaring people into creating morals, Stephen King differs and says that horror films are made to let people’s emotion and fears rein free, and Tim Dirks feels that a film must have certain characteristics for a horror film to be considered “good”.

Horror films in the 1950s were very different from those in modern times, as 1960’s Psycho is often credited as the father of modern horror film. 50s horror films would often fit into the science fiction or thriller genres today. The 50s were known as the “Monster Movie decade”, as films often used aliens and monsters to reflect communism or fascism, fears reminiscent of the era (American Movie Classics Company LLC, 2017). The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) was released in 3-D and used a foam and latex suit to create one of film’s most famous monsters- Gill-Man (see image 10) (American Movie Classics Company LLC, 2017). The suit was very realistic for its time and is often cited as a landmark for visual effects. GOJIRA: FIND SFX STUFF

All types of horror films are designed to unfold our most horrible fears and insecurities that lie deep within. It successfully focuses on the bizarre and illicit side of life that frights us by playing around our nightmares, vulnerability, and fears of the indefinite. However, despite how chaotic and terrifying these films are, the horror-genre still attracts and repel us. We crave to see the numerous film villains overtake our nightmares and then be defeated by a particular “Final Girl” who normally places society back to its stagnant normality.

Horror films have been around for over 100 years, petrifying people and bringing their worst fears to life but still they can’t get enough of this sick and gory genre that is unbelievably entertaining and captivating to the audience. Horror comes with many sub-genres from your bloody slashers like Friday the 13th to your Supernatural-Horrors like The Exorcist, but in the end they all seem to do their job by scaring you and leaving you with nightmares for weeks on end. Usually Horror’s films have the same character stereotypes such as the nerd, the jock, the slut, the virgin, the junky, the tough hero, the unlikely hero and last but not least the masked murderer, but yet they all play their own part in the making of these horrors movies whether it is the extremely slow walk the killer does but almost always catches the victim, or the unwise decision to split up and investigate where the unusual noise is coming from.

Popular Culture Pop culture plays an important role in today’s society; from the TV shows we follow to the sport teams we support, or from the books that we’ve been reading over and over again to the favorite celebrities that we follow every day. Though it doesn’t seem like these aspects of our life matter, but each can have an impact on the way we think and act. Pop culture has played both a role in shaping our country’s history and influencing the thoughts and actions of teenagers today. One of interesting aspects of popular culture is the focus in horror movies which is a very visceral genre that some people are so curious and find it very interesting. In Stephen King’s essay “Why We Cave Horror Movies”, he talked about the ideas

Popular culture has a strong hold in society and can portray strong messages. Those messages are both denotative, which are clearly apparent or hidden under the surface, connotative. The film industry is one area of popular culture that portrays these messages. Horror films typically follow an exhausting repetitive script with similar themes messages and ideas being portrayed. These messages and themes are evident when analyzing the notions of main storylines, and in the way gender, ethnicity, and sexuality are illustrated. The film Jennifer’s Body, is an example that simultaneously conforms and challenges the typical scripts of horror films. This paper will be examining some of these notions of the film.

Horror genre is one of the most likable genres of all times. In this essay I’ll have a look at a specific type of horror movies called ‘slasher’ films. It appears in 1960s with Alfred Hitchcock’s

In the silent era, most American horror movies were somewhat nervous efforts, more likely than not to have their supernatural elements explained away, and to be leavened still further by the insertion of the most painful kind of “comedy relief.” As far as actual screen horror went, the Germans expressed their films in their way; this would not change the way horror films were created until sound cinema. The year 1931 would prove to be a landmark in the history of screen horror. Horror films during this period reflected the need of the population for entertainment that bore little resemblance to their real-world circumstances. The viewer's favorite movies had highly fantastical creations and featuring supernatural creatures from 19th-century literature. Universal Pictures was undoubtedly the studio that most successfully tapped the audience’s desire for escapist horror during the period. There were successful horror films produced by other studios in the 1930s.

The decades that stick out in horror movie history are the 70s and the 80s. Most critics would agree with me when I say that the horror movies in the 70s and 80s changed the horror genre forever. The horror movies during those decades are viewed as being the foundation for the horror movies today. But why did those two decades have a significant impact on the horror genre? What made the horror movies better than the horror movies today?

In the second section of Neale’s essay, he identifies two modes of looking: voyeuristic and fetishistic looking. Taking his cues from Mulvey, Neale explains the necessity of distance between spectator and spectacle in terms of voyeurism. Neale states that this distance “allows the spectator a degree of power over what is seen” (16). While, according to Ellis, fetishistic looking “implies the direct acknowledgement and participation of the object viewed” and “has much to do with display and the spectacle” (17). Neale states that “physical beauty is interpreted in terms of the female body,” and the female body is the “recipient of the spectators looks” (17). Meanwhile, Neale states that “the spectacle of male bodies [are] unmarked as objects

Horror films have been one the most popular films in society especially during Halloween time. These films make us get excited, scared, and lets the adrenaline rush through our body. Scary movies are used and are seen as entertainment, but what do horror films say about us? According to “The Devil In Disguise: Modern Monster and Their Metaphor” Emma Louise Backe states “Monsters have for centuries been manifestations of society’s fears and anxieties”. (Backe) Monsters change throughout time depending on the new generations. Monsters like the demon have evolved and critique our new generation. Today’s horror films represent the milleninals many fear and anxieties in which critique our generation inner demon or evil around us.

Horror Genre Films are unsettling films that are created to frighten and panic the audience. They are there to invoke our hidden worst fears yet entertaining the audience. They deal with our most undiscovered fears, our nightmares, and our vulnerability, our terror of the unknown, our fear of death or our loss of identity. Watching a horror film gives an opening into the scary world, into a passage for the essence of fear itself, but not really being in danger.

Comedy has been used throughout the history of horror films for numerous reasons. It is

When I was younger my parents used to scare me and my siblings by saying a lot of stuff. They used to say the devil will come get us if we were acting badly. Whenever we were bad my parents used to put on scary movies to get us scared so we would listen. Another thing they would say is that someone will kidnap us if we didn’t stay close to them at the grocery store or any store for that matter. The experiences I had with being scared when I was little about the devil, kidnappers, etc have made me want to watch horror movies to face my fears .There are many reasons why people watch horror movies. Stephen King states, three things that are correct: we watch horror movies to face our fears tand to get that certain adrenaline rush, how we go to watch horror movies to have a peculiar sort of fun and to feel normal about ourselves.

Horror films have slowly but surely become one of the most popular and beloved film genres. Due to the genre’s widespread popularity, it would be assumed that there is a clear identified reason that people are so dedicated to this specific industry, but that is not the case. The truth is there are a multitude of reasons. According to Maggie McCutcheon’s “Too Disturbing, Too Shocking”, one reason for horror movies is it allows the viewer to be “scared without the fear of mortal doom” following them out of the theater. Because horror films have many purposes, and this purpose is stated by many, this paper will discuss the importance that conquering the fear of the supernatural plays in the success of horror movies.